Dumfries and Galloway (UK Parliament constituency)

Dumfries and Galloway County constituency
Dumfries and Galloway shown within Scotland
Created:	2005
MP:	Russell Brown
Party:	Labour
Type:	House of Commons
Council areas:	Dumfries and Galloway
EP constituency:	Scotland

Dumfries and Galloway is a county constituency of in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was first used in the 2005 general election, and replaced Galloway and Upper Nithsdale and part of Dumfries, and it elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

Boundaries

Council areas grouped by the Fifth Review

Dumfries and Galloway, Scottish Borders and South Lanarkshire

As created by the Fifth Review of the Boundary Commission for Scotland the constituency is one of six covering the Dumfries and Galloway council area, the Scottish Borders council area and the South Lanarkshire council area. The other five constituencies are: Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk, Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale, East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow, Lanark and Hamilton East and Rutherglen and Hamilton West.

The Dumfries and Galloway constituency covers part of the Dumfries and Galloway council area. The rest of the council area is covered by the Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale constituency, which also covers part of the Scottish Borders council area and part of the South Lanarkshire council area.

The Dumfries and Galloway constituency includes Stranraer, Newton Stewart, The Machars, Kirkcudbright and a major part of the town of Dumfries. Although within the town of Dumfries, the Nithsdale East and Caerlaverock wards, as they were when the constituency was created, were excluded from the constituency. Ward boundaries changed in 2007.

Abandoned proposal for change

As part of the abandoned Sixth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies which began in 2011, the Boundary Commission for Scotland had proposed replacing Dumfries and Galloway with a new constituency called "Galloway and Carrick". This would have covered the western part of the Dumfries and Galloway council area and incorporated the electoral ward of Girvan and South Carrick, the southern half of Ayr, and almost the entire electoral ward of Maybole, North Carrick and Coylton except the town of Colyton and surrounding area.

Politics

Dumfries & Galloway's predecessor seats, Galloway & Upper Nithsdale (1983-2005) and Galloway (1918–83), had been represented by Conservative MPs in all but 2 parliaments since 1931. It was won by the Scottish National Party (SNP) in 1997, however became the only Scottish seat to return a Conservative MP at the 2001 General Election.

Boundary changes for the 2005 election saw the new seat have a very slim Labour majority over the Conservatives, and the SNP were in close third place. Russell Brown was the Labour candidate, who had been the MP for the neighbouring seat of Dumfriesshire since 1997, and Peter Duncan, the sitting MP for Galloway & Upper Nithsdale, stood as the Conservative candidate. Although the seat was the Conservatives' 2nd target seat across Britain, Labour increased its vote share and Russell Brown was elected as the constituency's MP.

In 2010, Duncan attempted once again to become Dumfries & Galloway's MP however the election produced a swing against the Conservatives in the seat, and it was held by Labour. As of the last election, the seat has became a relatively safe Labour seat, with a majority of over 7,000 above the Conservatives. The SNP's share of the vote in the constituency collapsed at the 2005 general election, and remained static in 2010.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	2005	Russell Brown	Labour

Elections

General Election 2010: Dumfries and Galloway
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Russell Brown	23,950	45.9%	+4.8
	Conservative	Peter Duncan	16,501	31.6%	-3.7
	SNP	Andrew Wood	6,419	12.3%	+0.2
	Liberal Democrat	Richard Brodie	4,608	8.8%	+0.5
	UKIP	Bill Wright	695	1.3%	+1.3
Majority			7,449	14.3%
Turnout			52,173	70.0%	+0.4
	Labour hold		Swing	+4.3

General Election 2005: Dumfries and Galloway
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Russell Brown	20,924	41.1	+8.7
	Conservative	Peter Duncan	18,002	35.4	+3.3
	SNP	Douglas Henderson	6,182	12.1	-13.0
	Liberal Democrat	Keith Legg	4,259	8.4	-0.5
	Scottish Green	John Schofield	745	1.5	+1.5
	Scottish Socialist	John Dennis	497	1.0	-0.6
	Christian Vote	Mark Smith	282	0.6	+0.6
Majority			2,922	5.7
Turnout			50,891	68.5	+1.5
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.7